PDP questions Omar's support for bringing parties under RTI

Opposition PDP today said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's suggestion to bring political parties under the ambit of RTI Act was meaningless till his party makes public the assets of its top leadership.
"If National Conference (NC) is sincere about transparency and accountability, why doesn't the party declare itself as a 'Public Authority'? Such utterances are meaningless unless people know the details of wealth amassed by their top leadership," People Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman Naeem Akhtar said in a statement here.
Akhtar said, it was the NC-led government which weakened the state Right to Information Act (RTI) Act, 2009 by amending its rules last year.

"The government has rendered the State Information Commission (SIC) toothless by clipping Chief Information Commissioner's (CIC) powers and degrading the rank and status of Secretary, SIC," he said.
SIC had powers to summon and issuing warrants to any erring officer, but that rule has also been changed by the NC regime, Akhtar said, adding that the Chief Minister speaks about importance of section 4 of RTI Act, but his own office "does not adhere to it".
"The official website of state government is defunct since three years. Can Omar Abdullah tell people what kind of voluntary disclosure the Chief Minister's office has made under section 4 of RTI Act?" he asked.